ORIGINAL RESEARCH Plant Invasion Research in Nepal: A Review of Recent National Trends Mohan Pandey1, Khum Bahadur Thapa-Magar2, Buddhi Sagar Poudel3, Thomas Seth Davis2, Bharat Babu Shrestha4, * 1 KTK-BELT, Inc., Kathmandu, Nepal, 2 Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA. 3 REDD Implementation Centre, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Kathmandu, Nepal 4 Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal Corresponding Author E-mail:
[email protected] Received: 31 May 2020 Accepted for publication: 28 September 2020 Published: 30 December 2020 ______________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract Research interests in Invasive Alien Plant Species (IAPS) have expanded globally, and nationally in Nepal, over the last few decades. Here we provide a systematic compilation and analysis of the scientific literature to explore research trends and identify research gaps in plant invasion biology in Nepal. We compiled and examined journal publications retrieved from Web of Science (WOS) and other databases (NepJOL, Google Scholar, and other bibliographies) using specific search keywords. The search yielded 86 research studies on IAPS, published between 1958 and 2020 (up to August 2020) that met our pre-determined criteria. The number of publications in national journals that focused on IAPS increased, starting in 2000, but this increase was not notable in international journals, until 2010. Nearly 91 % of the studies that appeared in international journals were published after 2010. A majority of the studies focus on biology, ecology, and ecological impact studies of a few selected IAPS, especially mile-a-minute (Mikania micrantha Kunth), parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.), and crofton weed (Ageratina adenophora (Spreng.) R.M.